Report: Ore. high school football coach tackles gunman at high school

A report from an Oregon television station claimed that a high school football and track coach intercepted and tackled a gunman at his school on Friday.

According to Portland CBS affiliate KATU, Parkrose High School (Portland, Ore.) football and track coach Keanon Lowe tackled an armed student on Friday, helping avert possible disaster at the school. Lowe acted after searching for the student in question in a class after his classmates had reported concerning behavior. According to the Oregonian, not long thereafter, the student arrived in the classroom carrying a shotgun. No one was injured in the altercation, and Keanon had reportedly subdued the alleged gunman by the time police arrived.

While police have not officially confirmed that Lowe was the man who stopped the shooter, an Associated Press report of the event noted that the gunman was detained by a staff member.

Lowe is a former University of Oregon football star who was one of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota’s favorite targets during their shared time in Eugene. He now serves as a football and track coach as well as a security guard at Parkrose.

“I’m just happy everyone was OK,” Lowe told the Oregonian. “I’m happy I was able to be there for the kids and for the community.”

Here was the reaction from two of the students in the class when Lowe allegedly stopped the armed teen from injuring any of his classmates.

Parkrose HS seniors Preston Anderson, 17, & Sair Nunez, 19 said they were in their government class in the Fine Arts building when a male classmate came in with a gun and was subdued by Keanon Lowe, a coach at the school. pic.twitter.com/aKU4zPj8XD

In a bright sign, because the gunman was subdued without any injury to student or staff, and because the incident stopped there, the school’s scheduled junior/senior prom still took place Saturday night. School is also scheduled to open as usual on Monday.